Staff Backend Engineer, Observability Lead

Affirm, Inc.; Miami (FL); Remote; USD 204,000 - 290,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health coverage with dependents

Tech setup stipends

ESPP stock plan

Remote-first with flexibility

Job summary

AFFIRM is seeking a Staff Software Engineer for Observability, with a strong background in backend systems and telemetry. You will lead architecture, guide cross-functional projects, and mentor six engineers while aligning with product and infra teams.

You will drive reliability, performance, and cost considerations for 200+ TB/day telemetry, focusing on modern observability practices and scalable design. This remote-first role welcomes US-based candidates.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of backend design, development and scale deployment.
• Experience with Python or Kotlin in large distributed systems.
• Proven track record with AWS, MySQL, Flink and Kubernetes.
• Experience building or operating telemetry systems (metrics/logs/traces).
• Knowledge of observability practices like sampling, wide events and SLOs.
• Ability to drive platform standards across teams and communicate clearly.

Responsibilities

• Own the architecture of AFFIRM’s observability telemetry pipeline.
• Design log sampling strategies to reduce cost while preserving signal.
• Shape how observability fits into AI-assisted development and reviews.
• Set technical strategy for the team and align with business goals.
• Collaborate with product, design, and analytics to manage trade-offs.
• Champion quality and operational processes through code reviews and standards.
• Mentor engineers and develop talent, leading by example.

Skills

Python

Kotlin

Distributed systems

AWS

MySQL

Flink

Kubernetes

OpenTelemetry

Kafka

SLOs

Leadership

Education

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent practical experience

Tools

Terraform

Job description

AFFIRM is seeking a Staff Software Engineer for Observability, with a strong background in backend systems and telemetry. You will lead architecture, guide cross-functional projects, and mentor six engineers while aligning with product and infra teams.

You will drive reliability, performance, and cost considerations for 200+ TB/day telemetry, focusing on modern observability practices and scalable design. This remote-first role welcomes US-based candidates.